ATMs as a Business

Just as in my prior post on Earning Passive Income with Vending Machines, you can also earn good passive income with an ATM business.

For those who don’t know, an ATM is an Automated Teller Machine (also called an Automatic Teller Machine). It allows you to perform various transactions with financial institutions (such as a bank) without the need for a teller.

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Although many ATMs are own by financial institutions, quite a few of them are not. In fact, owning an ATM business has never been easier and has the potential to be quite lucrative.

Getting Started with ATM Machines

ATMs are very much like vending machines, except they dispense cash rather than tasty snacks and beverages.
In addition, the income is basically passive; ATMs have the ability to earn income for you day and night.

Finally, this is a business that you can essentially run from home.

ATM Location

As with other similar businesses, the location where you place an ATM is critical to your success.
Typically, the best place to put an ATM is in an establishment with a fair amount of traffic and/or where the public normally spends cash.

For example, a convenience store would be a great place to situate an ATM machine. People are constantly coming in to purchase various items, usually with cash. And if they don’t have enough money for their purchase, the convenience of the ATM allows them to get whatever additional amount they need.

(Of course, if you have your own – or a family-owned – business, that would also be a great place for an ATM.)

ATM Costs and Earnings

With an ATM business, you make your money by charging a service fee – typically $1 – $4 (you set the amount) for each transaction. The amount that ATMs can earn varies widely and depends on a number of factors, including location, traffic and the surcharge amount. That said, most ATMs are estimated to earn $200 – $2,000 per month.
A new ATM direct from the manufacturer typically costs $3,000 – $6,500. Used macines are often just as good, and can run from the hundreds to thousands of dollars in terms of cost.

However, as an alternative to outright purchasing them, ATMs can also be leased fairly cheaply – usually for $70 – $100 per month.

Summary and Other Issues

In addition to just placing the ATM in a location and collecting your fees there are other factors to consider.

For instance, although ATM theft is rare relatively speaking, you will want to have insurance on your machine.

You will also have to make a decision about how you will go about stocking your machine with cash and who will do it. (Most machines typically contain several thousand dollars in cash, but you don’t necessarily have to use your own money or do the stocking yourself.)

Other decisions involve selecting an ATM processor, and maintenance and repair options.

In short, there are a lot of decisions to be made with respect to operating an ATM business, but it can indeed be lucrative and provide great passive income.

You can also get other business ideas for passive income at Passive Income Business Ideas.